HISTORY OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION

The modern Physical Education (P.E.) activities are based on the natural physical education of the early times. In
most educational systems, physical education, otherwise known as physical training or gym, though each has
different connotations, is a course in the curriculum which utilizes learning in the cognitive, affective and
psychomotor domains in a play or movement exploration setting. It is a subject participated, not studied.

P.E. has existed since the primitive stages of humanity through activities such as hunting, climbing and other survival
skills. However, the real history of P.E. is in the changing strategies and methodologies used to transmit physical skills
and the varying intentions of the educator.

The first known literary reference to an athletic competition is preserved in the ancient Greek text, the Iliad, by
Homer. This marks an important point in the study in the history of P.E. The Greek influence is arguably the most
fundamental to how the discipline is viewed today. The ancient Greek tradition of the Olympic Games, which
originated in the early 8th century BC, even continues today. The Father of Modern Physical Education that we know
of today is Friedrich Ludwig Jahn.

The field of physical education has gone through many cycles over its long history. These cycles range from a strict
authoritarianism to the liberal democracy of today. This transformation to the democracy has opened the field of
physical education up to many new sciences, which are creating many new professional opportunities. If the cycles
of physical education continue, these new professions will hopefully pave the way to future discoveries and studies
of physical education.

The Spartans and Athenians were the first to have a type of physical education. Though very different, both systems
served the people and their needs. The Spartan system was similar to a dictatorship. Male children were taken at the
age of seven to learn basic military skills while living in barracks. When the children reached the age of fourteen, they
began learning group fighting tactics which would allow them to succeed while in the military from the ages of twenty
to thirty. Once thirty, the men could then marry women who had been doing some training of her own in order to
make strong babies. The philosophy of the Spartans was basically to allow them to invade other countries if desired,
and to prevent other countries from invading them.

The philosophy of the Athenians was quite different compared to the Spartans. The Athenian culture was very
democratic, and focused on training the mind and body. Reading and writing was a large part of society as well as
physical activity which took place in the center of the city where the gymnasium was located. The physical education
philosophy of the Athenians was the high point of physical education for many years.

Some other cycles in physical education that we have evolved from are that of the Romans, the dark ages, and the
crusades. The Roman era is a bit disturbing, but is nonetheless a cycle of physical education. Physical education for
the Romans was about athletics, which was primarily about entertainment. People were forced to fight to the death,
and oftentimes fed to lions. During the dark ages, religion viewed physical education as a waste of time and a work
of the devil. The dark ages were a very sedentary time for human civilization. Following the dark ages in
approximately 1096, were the crusades. The crusades were a time of muscular Christianity, because of the Muslims
conquering Jerusalem. Muscular Christianity is basically Christians believing that the more one trained to become
good soldiers, the more Christian a person was. In 1270, the crusades ended and so did the thought of physical
education being worthwhile until approximately 1400 when the renaissance period began. Physical education during
the renaissance period is quite similar to physical education today. It is done to better oneself, not to be doing
something for someone else. The development of physical education had another setback in the 1600's when it was
very functional and not a priority. People believed that if it did not have a specific purpose, hence, it was a waste of
time.
During the 1700's, there was a big change in physical education that can be largely attributed to three people:
Rousseau, Johan Simon, and Guts Muths. Rousseau was the first person to promote education for the masses and
he also thought of play as being educational. In 1712, Rousseau invented an activity that is still used by millions of
children every day, recess. Johan Simon was the first physical education teacher and believed physical education
should be taught along with reading and writing. Simon believed physical education should include a lot of physical
labor. Guts Muths developed a series of gymnastic apparatuses and believed physical education developed very
important social skills. These people of the 1700's and the things they did began paving the road to where we are
today. During the 1800's, physical education programs were finding their way into universities which contributed to
many things we have today. New sports were being invented, intramurals were being brought into schools, women
began exercising, gymnasiums could be found in most colleges, and many recreational areas and parks were being
built in order to decrease the crime rate. This continued on into the 1900's which brought on the creation of the
National Collegiate Athletic Association to regulate college athletics, and the golden age of sports during the 20' and
30's. During this golden age of sport, the number of people in sport increased dramatically, the number of teachers
increased, and physical education began moving toward the involvement of sport. In 1941, World War II began which
brought a big shock along with it. Of the first 2 million males drafted, 45% failed their physical. With this, physical
education began to be very strongly pushed in schools in order to improve the health of the American people.

Since W.W. II, the United States has continued to press the importance of physical education, which brings it to
where it is today, a highly complex field with many different sub-disciplines. The sub-disciplines are:
--Exercise physiology, which is the study of bodily systems and their reactions to the stress of exercise.
--Kinesiology, which is the study of how the muscular system moves the bony structure of the body.
--Biomechanics, which is the study of the human body as a mechanical system, utilizing principles and applications
from physics.
--Motor learning, which is the changes in motor performance related to experience and practice.
--Sport sociology, which is the social structure, social patterns, and social organization of groups engaged in sport.
--Sport Psychology, which is the study of behavioral and psychological issues and problems in sport.
--Sport pedagogy, which is the study of the processes of teaching and coaching, the outcomes of such endeavors,
and the content of fitness, physical-education, and sport-education programs." (Siedentop)

These sub-disciplines have created many new jobs for people in the field of education, and will surely branch off to
form others in the future.

THE VALUE OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN INDIVIDUAL

PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Physical Education is an integral part of the educational system designed to promote the optimum development of
the person physically, mentally, emotionally, socially and spiritually through total body movement.
OBJECTIVES OR GOALS OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION
1. PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT  Through carefully selected physical education activities, an individual who engages
and participates actively will become “fit” and will live a happy, satisfying and useful life; He lives happily with other
people and has an interest and desire to serve humanity and exemplifies high ethical standards  good health and
high level of fitness
2. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT • A learner seldom gets into vigorous activities by himself. He does physical activities with
other people in which he can acquire desirable traits like:  Friendliness  Cooperation  Respect for others  Good
sportsmanship  Good leadership and followership  Honesty in group competition
3. EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT: o The informal nature of physical education offers opportunities for the development
of expression and emotional traits needed for emotional mastery like:  Self confidence  Self control  self-reliance,
 courage  Stability  determination  Personal Discipline
4. MENTAL DEVELOPMENT:  Through P.E. activities, the individual develops his mental capacities as he learns the
mechanical principles of underlying movement as the learner undergoes the acquisition of knowledge and
understanding of rules and strategies of sports as he discovers ways of improving as a person.
5. SPIRITUAL: Above all, the relationship with God will be strengthened through engaging in physical education
activities.
“Improve all the aspects of your life”
Purposes:
1. To develop the fitness of an individual so that he will be capable to live a good life
2. To produce individuals who can contribute to the economic-well being (the improvement of proper work habits
and work attitudes such as punctuality, cooperation, reliability etc.. proper emphasis on problem solving skills
3. train good leaders WITH MORAL INTEGRITY - meaningful PE activities like sports fest acquisition of values
4. to develop creativity and innovativeness
5. to instill a love of and pride for our rich cultural heritage

A physically educated person:

- understands the potential of physical education activities in the attainment of a healthy lifestyle and strives to
achieve this goal
- Exercises regularly to develop and maintain his or her weight and physical fitness
- has acquired sufficient skills to enable him or her to participate actively in some forms of recreational games, sports
and dances;
- eats a balanced diet and practices good eating habits
- gets adequate sleep and avoids drugs and stimulants that will negatively affect his total well-being
- enjoys participation in a variety of vigorous activities and recreational pursuits
-appreciates good performances in games, sports and dances

Physical Fitness is the primary specific objective of Physical Education. It is also the ability of a person to accomplish
daily tasks with alertness and vigor.
Aspects: (being fit)
1. Physical- A person who possesses strength, power and endurance and is free from diseases
2. Mental- A person who is alert and has trained his faculties for effective study and work; learns the mechanical
principles underlying body movements; acquires knowledge and understanding of the fundamental rules and
strategies of sports; develops concepts and learns to generalize
3. Emotional- learns how to control himself and acts wisely with courage when caught in stressful and emotionally-
intense situations; finding joy and satisfaction in physical activities; his tensions removed and this contributes to his
ability to relax; acquire a certain measure of success in performing a particular skill; able to establish a more positive
self- concept
4. Social- acquires desirable interpersonal standards and ethical concepts; aware of his role as a member of the group
and develops the “we” feeling of consciousness; being cooperative
5. Spiritual- A person who believes in God and makes peace with Him. He practices his faith in high ethical standards
for his own uplift and that of his family and neighbors.

Components of Physical Fitness

Skill-Related Components
1. Agility- ability of the person to change position or directions easily and quickly while under control
2. Balance is the ability to maintain body stability while moving or standing
3. Coordination- teaming together of muscles and nerves in order to accomplish an accurate and well-timed body
movement
4. Power- ability to perform strong movements quickly
5. Reaction time- amount of time it takes to move once a person decides to start moving
6. Speed- ability of the individual to perform a particular movement while covering a distance at the shortest possible
time
Health-related Components
7. Cardio-Respiratory endurance- Being able to do and continue physical activities for a long period of time. It is also
the capacity to postpone the onset of fatigue.
8. Flexibility- ability of the body to bend any part without breaking any joint
9. Muscular endurance- ability to use the muscles many times in succession without getting tired
Keys to a Healthy Life
1. Regular Exercise- It should be done at the right frequency, intensity, and time/ duration
2. Balanced Diet- eat the right kinds of foods
3. Adequate Sleep- must have 7-9 hours of sleep
4. Absence of Liquor, cigarettes and drugs
5. wholesome recreation- hiking, biking, picnic, swimming, sports-related activities
6. positive attitudes- optimistic, determined, confident

Exercise is the key to physical fitness. It stimulates all our body systems most particularly the muscular, circulatory,
and respiratory systems to work at a high level of efficiency. The right kind of exercise develops and strengthens the
muscles.

Parts of an Exercise Program:

1. Warm-up: Stretch the muscles of the body to avoid possible muscle injury and to heat up the body giving a slight
increase in the heart rate (pulse) in preparation for the vigorous working phase. It takes about 5-10 minutes
depending on the activity
2. The Main Activity (may be aerobics, playing sports, isotonics, or dancing)
3. Cool Down- Usually made up of walking and slow stretches that bring the pulse rate gradually back to normal.

Benefits of exercise:
1. Improves strength and muscular endurance
2. better coordination of all forms of physical activity
3. improves flexibility resulting in better performance
4. improves posture and appearance
5. additional energy for both mental and physical tasks
6. improves cardio vascular fitness
7. quicker recovery after hard work
8. prevents and controls some diseases

Principles of Exercise
1. Overload Principle: It states that in order for a muscle to become stronger, it must work against a greater than
normal load
2. Specificity Principle: It means that in order to develop a specific parameter of fitness, specific exercise for that
particular parameter must be executed.
3. Progressive Principle: Begin an exercise on your current fitness level, and then gradually and progressively increase
fitness level until you reach the level of fitness you want to achieve.

Physical Fitness Tests (given twice a year)

1. Standing Long Jump- measures leg strength
2. Curl Up- measures strength and endurance of abdominal muscles
3. 40-meter sprint- measures speed
4. Shuttle Run- measures agility and coordination
5. Sit and Reach- measures the flexibility of the lower back and hamstring muscles
6. 3-min. step test- measures cardio respiratory endurance
7. Push Up- measures upper body strength

( Carmen Tabije Andin, Teaching Physical Education in Philippine Schools) ( Virginia D. Oyco, Physical Fitness for
College Freshmen) ( Lorna Fe Lopez, Physical Education, Health and Music I) (Vilma Perez, MAPEH IV)